Please respect the fact that this is a humble attempt from my side to record some recipes, handed over to my family through grandmas & great-grandmas and also share some favourite dishes of my family, including the one I married into. All the content in this blog (text and photographs) are mine, unless noted otherwise. Copying, re-writing, republishing, redistributing or altering any text or photograph or part of the text, for any commercial or non-commercial purposes, without my written consent is strictly prohibited. Users with non-commercial purposes may link to the page or a specific post, but not allowed to reproduce or alter the content( text and photographs) without prior written permission. Please ASK first at shncjj@gmail.com. Kindly use comments section for any recipe clarifications and e-mails will not be entertained in this regard.

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Monday, July 13, 2009

Two weeks back, I woke up one morning telling myself, “ I am going to start blogging from today!! “ and curled up under the cover thinking about the peach and plum jam I made the previous night , the fruity fragnrance of which had invaded the dark passages of my nostrils and found its way to my clogged up brain. The intoxicating smell of the fruits cooking in the pot , with a subtle note of the spices filled up our kitchen and living room, awakening all my senses as well as reviving the spirits of the blogger in me . Though I had paired the fruits out of a random brainwave,the temptation to blog grew stronger when CJJ, entrusted with the responsibility of taste –test as the fruits were coming to a rolling boil, made an unexpected remark that “I have a gut feeling that this jam is going to be awesome…”!!!

Days passed by and nothing happened…..and whenever I logged into my blog account , the picture of that muringakka/Drumstick curry stared back at me. Towards the end of that week, I saw CJJ spreading some of that jam on a slice of bread and heard him saying, “ hmm…wow” . Again I told myself , “Todayyy …I have to take a picture and write this down before I forget the recipe” .

One more week passed and nothing happened…..and last weekend, CJJ offered me a slice of bread slathered with some of that jam and as I digged my teeth into it, once again , I felt the same urge and today I saw myself rummaging my closets for the bag of camera and its accessories and also spent a good amount of time searching for the camera manual as I realised I had completely lost touch with the basics of photography itself. I know it will take some time to get back to my grooves again but atleast I am glad that I am making an attempt.

As much as am inspired to write about this simple concoction from my kitchen and make a come back to the blog world, I see myself sharing the thoughts of that school kid who lived in my body two decades ago. She always had some strange inhibitions to go back to school after a week of absence due to fever or some other sickness, wondering if she would still have a place among her friends. As I write this I have the same feelings , same doubts……though the number of supporting mails and comments I received from dear blogger friends and readers, over the last few months, is enough to convince me that I have a place there in your hearts!!! Thanks a ton for all those thoughtful messages and reassuring mails :)

Well, though that was a long prelude for a simple Peach & Plum Jam, I really don’t have any exact measurements to write down a detailed recipe. I will just note down what I threw in and hopefully, that would give you a canvas to make your own creation.

I started by chopping 4 ripe peaches and 6-8 dark plums ( as big as a lemon and not the small ‘cherry size’ variety I have seen in India during my childhood) into small chunks and discard the fruit pits. Squeeze one orange and pour the juice to a medium size sauce pot , along with fruit chunks and 3 ½ to 4 cups of sugar ( varies depending on the natural sweetness of the fruits); throw in 5 whole cloves and 5 pices of flat cinnamon with around 1 inch length. Bring everything to a rolling boil and skim off the foam that accumulates on top. Continue this process in medium heat, stirring every now and then , until the the foam is reduced, fruits are cooked well and start to thicken a bit. At this stage start mashing the fruit chunks with a potato masher or with the back of a wooden spoon; for the latter you need to use some of your elbow grease. The whole process of simmering and thickening will take about 40-60 minutes and towards the end, add 1-2 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice and simmer for another 5 minutes and turn off the stove. In case, the taste of lemon juice is over powering, you may add a drizzle of honey and stir for another 1-2 minutes before turning off the stove (I did). Before ladling the warm jam into sterized jars, remove the whole spices with a fork . I noticed that the jam thickens as it cools, so stop at a consistency where the mixture is still a bit loose in texture. Store in an airtight jar and refrigerate.

Will I make it again? Sure! Perhaps during the next season!

Thanks again for being patient with me and for keeping this place alive by your occasional visits :) I will try to keep this page active though the frequency of the posts might not be the same as earlier!

Mish,Inspite of all those updates in my blog,noticed yours and rushed here..haah..to jus read something from you..even yesterday was thinking about you..Very happy that you are back..Jam look awesome..

Oh! At last you are back......I used to look into your blog for your comeback whenever I read blogs and yesterday I was again looking for a receipe for tofu here as I found zucchini thoran recepie from your site.Thanks a lot mishmash for coming out from your long silence and happy to see you again......I won't me making the jam but so happy to see you back.

Great to see you back after sooo long..I was expecting the Muringakka pic when the opened the blog this morning,but got a surprise when i saw the jam post!!! Keep blogging..waiting for more superb recipies.

Everyday I used to visit your blog in anticipation of an interesting new recipe.. but everyday I returned empty handed... great to have u back.. keep rolling out delcious dishes... looking forward to it always.

The picture is so inviting that I would love to make the jam as soon as I leave my desktop. But unfortunately, I am so far away from my kitchen that I cannot make it immedeately. The jam is so wonderfully simple, don't you need to add all those preservatives? If not, then it is good for children(especially, for those who hate the sight of fersh fruits.)

Hey! you are back?? Wowie!!! I'm really glad to see you back in action Shn!!! Ah! I was more interested in commenting rather than reading your post today! Been tired seeing the muringakka curry pic all this while!! YAY for you!!!

Welcome back!! me? I have been following your blog since ages, me too started blogging few months back:) love your recipes and gorgeous clicks, so very well presented!!!! Plum and peach jam looks delicious!

I am so glad that you are back... Your recipes always turn out great for me.. When I used to make beef, it was never good.. But when I followed your recipe, now my husband is quite happy when i make beef.. :-) Also, I tried the pappadam chammanthi and was an instant hit in my house....

We have so much peaches from our peach tree and I was wondering what to do with it. Your Peach and Plum Jam gave me some ideas on what I am going to do with it. My sister made some pickles with the not so riped one and it came out pretty good. Almost taste like Mango pickle.

Its been so good to see you after so long. I tried 'chicken roast'kuttanadan, and it came out so well. Thank you so much for the secret magic masala also. It was great to eat with that nadan taste. And pleaaaaaaase do not vanish in between.. your blogs are being awaited for ...

Zerin, ever since i started making jam, i have never added preservatives...infact lemon juice works as a preservative i guess...also i make only a small batch which I refrigerate...so it always stays good..why dont u give it a try?

Ria, heheh...yeah this time I'm back :D me too got really sick seeing the same old pic...:)) thx!

parita, thx for coming of your mask finally and leaving a couple lines here....i did check out your blog, quite impressive...need time to go through in detail...i will be there often :)best wishes...

Fathima, :))

Aparna, hmm...that's reassuring...thx :)

Shabs, thanks a lot...was there in your page two days back...had to leave without commenting....just wanted to let you know that you ve a treasure house of some long forgotten recipes....:)

Mini, thx :)

Dhanya. hey, how come i am not able to access your page..? enne purathakkiyathano..?? pinne, a recipe is only a framework...magic is in the chef's hands...so pls take some credit for yoruself...so happy to know that you and ur friends were happy with that dish :)

nands, thanks a lot :)

kaya, thx a lot for dropping by and leaving your feedback...I will check out ur page soon :)

Sunita, yes I am , how ve u been? :)

Reena, thx!

Pramod, hmm..I wish I were in india that time!! :(

Praveen, thx :)

Elizabeth, thanks a bunch for your lovely feedback..i am so glad that the recipes featured here are working out for you...enjoy cooking and eating too :)

Digit, pickles peaches...wow! I wish I could taste it!!!

Sijo, mm...aa muringakka padam maatiyekkam ennu karuthee :P

Pravs, u re the one who encouraged me to first try out a jam recipe from ur blog...thx so much for that, else I wouldnt have know what I ve been missing out :)

Swapna, thx :)

Praveen/Kiron, very happy to see you here.....will try to keep the page active :)

maninas, than you :)

SV, helllo V...how re you....it's been few days since I checked ur blog...will drop by soon :)

Rekha, thanks again for a lovely comment....happy to get such a feedback.great to know that you enjoyed the dish :)